Hello David, Hello Opencard and Sclinux users,
David was replying to a message asking about kernel support
for smartcards under Linux:
David Corcoran wrote:
>
> I'm working with OpenCard and PC/SC. Of course these would run as
> daemons
> and probably have no kernel integration. OpenCard is nice and
> extensible
> when dynamically allocating new Card Terminals (and it works with
> iButtons). Plus the work is done.
I already sent a mail to both mailing lists (i.e., users of smartcards
in a Linux environment and users of Opencard) to advocate Opencard
Framework under Linux, which could have several benefits:
1) Opencard is free,
2) it will allow the use a 100% pure Java solution (through the use
of Sun's CommPORT API, already ported to Linux),
3) it is portable (developed in Java) and has a native interface
to accomodate PC/SC under a windows environment,
4) it provides a powerful and extensible framework for the development
of smartcard-aware applications: some high-level services will be
developped in the future, e.g., for dealing with ISO7816 card files
(already exists), with Javacards (under investigation), or misc
horizontal services such as PKCS#11 (under investigation,see below).
> PC/SC is written in C and I know the man at Microsoft who wrote the
> resource manager but then there is the cryptolib stuff. I'm working
> hard to get an open standard support under Linux. If we use
> OpenCard - anyone out there a Java Native Interface expert ?
I am neither a specialist in JNI (I try to stay away from it! ;-), nor
in cryptolib.. what is it exactly? (Is it MS crypto API?)
The Opencard CardService Working Group is currently investigating the
addition of a PKCS#11 service, which is an open (non-proprietary)
defacto standard for cryptographic services. A Java interface to
PKCS#11 has been presented as a work starting point at the last
working group meeting.
This interface has been developed and published by IBM on their
experimental software site (i.e., on "www.alphaWorks.ibm.com")
the 9th of April 1998. Its status is still undefined (see alphaworks
copyright/documentation for more details).
>From the Overview text:
<<
The PKCS#11 API for Java is represented by a set of abstract
Java classes (package com.ibm.pkcs11) that define the
interface but don't provide any functionality themselves.
The package com.ibm.pkcs11.nat provides an implementation
of the abstract classes and maps the Java API to calls to a
native PKCS#11 library.
>>
Maybe such an API and its JNI bindings is what you are looking for..
would it help if it becomes available someday in Opencard?
Cheers,
Christophe.
= There are three roads to ruin; women, gambling and technicians. =
= The most pleasant is with women, the quickest is with gambling, =
= but the surest is with technicians. -- Georges Pompidou =
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Linux Smart Card Developers - M.U.S.C.L.E.
(Movement for the Use of Smart Cards in a Linux Environment)
http://www.linuxnet.com/smartcard/index.html
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